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Godfrey & Kahn litigator plays nice

Godfrey & Kahn litigator plays nice

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Anthony Baish
Anthony Baish (Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)

Anthony Baish handles serious business, working with some of Wisconsin’s most well-known companies on complex cases — but he’s not afraid to crack a smile.

“You can’t take yourself too seriously,” said Baish, a shareholder in the litigation practice group at the Milwaukee office of Godfrey & Kahn SC.

A member of the firm’s intellectual property litigation group, Baish has worked with Kimberly-Clark Corp., Oshkosh Corp., School Specialty Inc. and The Sportsman Channel.

One of his most recent cases involved serving as the lead patent litigation counsel for California and Arkansas manufacturers in an infringement suit in the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
He also serves as president-elect of the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association.

“The cases can get complex and my desk is full,” Baish said, “but I try to make sure I have time to do what I enjoy outside of work.”

That includes spending time with his family and being involved in causes he cares about, including the Zoological Society of Milwaukee, which supports the Milwaukee County Zoo.

He also was instrumental in expanding the pro bono representation of indigent civil litigants in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Baish and attorney Jenny Susek recruited lawyers to represent low-income people and provided them with the tools they needed to do the job well.

Baish works hard, but he puts the highest value on kindness, he said.

“I’ve always told my children that it’s more important to be nice than to be smart,” he said. “And if you’re both, that’s even better.”

Wisconsin Law Journal: What is the hardest case you’ve worked on?

Anthony Baish: My first trial out of law school. It was Wisconsin Patients Compensation Fund v. Physicians Insurance Co. of Wisconsin. It was the first-of-its-kind bad faith insurance dispute.

I was fresh out of law school and due to circumstances, I wound up being second chair. It was very daunting, but I learned a lot. We did prevail on the case.

WLJ: If you hadn’t become a lawyer, what would you have done?
Baish: A struggling film director. After graduation, I worked at a video production company in the middle of Iowa waiting for Hollywood to discover me. I then decided to go to law school.

WLJ: What was your least favorite course in law school and why?
Baish: Tax law. I figure we get tested on taxes every year, why submit ourselves to more testing on it?

WLJ: What do you consider your biggest achievement to date?
Baish: This will sound corny, but it’s my daughters. My wife and I raised three fantastic daughters who are well-rounded and well-grounded. I think that is a great achievement.

WLJ: What song is on heavy rotation on your iPod?
Baish: A lot of Rolling Stones. “Winter” keeps coming up a lot lately.

WLJ: What was your favorite toy as a child?
Baish: Big Trak. It was a programmable tank thing with a laser light on the front. I used to program it to follow the cat around to harass it. It was a pretty cool toy for the time.

WLJ: If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Baish: I wish I was better at time management. I have spent many hours at the office after putting the kids to bed at night. I wish I could fit all of my work into my work day.

WLJ: What trait do you like most in others?
Baish: Kindness

WLJ: If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
Baish: Right where I am. We love living in Wauwatosa, but I wouldn’t mind having a winter home somewhere in the Caribbean.

WLJ: Which living person do you most admire?
Baish: This is a tie between my wife and mother-in-law. My wife was born profoundly deaf, but she speaks and reads lips very well. She doesn’t use sign language at all to communicate. When she found out her daughter was deaf, my mother-in-law quit her job and stayed home to teach her daughter to speak. It’s remarkable what she accomplished.

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